Hot on the heels of the recent Microsoft’s price increase announcement, Microsoft has announced further changes to it’s CSP program which will start to come into effect from October 2021 with a new commerce experience for Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Power Platform and Windows 365.
The main changes to the CSP for the New Commerce Experience program are:
- Three-year terms for M365 exclusively in new commerce in March 2022
- New offers for M365 and D365 exclusive to new commerce
- Three-year term offers for D365
- New monthly-term offers with a price premium for customers who need term and seat-count flexibility
- Annual term offers with competitive pricing for stable, long-term customers
- The option to blend short and long-term offers for customers with seasonal or business-volume fluctuations
What does all this mean? Reading between the lines, there has been a rumour circulating for a couple of years that Microsoft is considering removing the level A band (500 to 2,400 seats) as an option for Enterprise Agreements. The introduction of a new three year term within the CSP program seems to support this rumour.
It is interesting to note that there will be a price premium for monthly billing with seat count flexibility. There are 1 and 3 year commit options available which The SAM Club understands can be billed monthly (further discount for annual billing) but the number of licenses committed to cannot be decreased during the term. It is possible to blend these options to keep some control on the number of licenses required and as well as trying to minimise the costs. There is no mention of a minimum seat count for the three year term which will benefit those firms that have not been able to continue with an Enterprise Agreement since the minimum seat count was increased to 500 several years ago.
Licensing is confusing enough but it is important to understand the product term differences with the CSP program especially around Windows 10, for example. There are no reimaging rights or access to the Long Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) with the CSP program. The SAM Club will be keeping an eye open with the changes to the CSP program in respect of the Product Terms.
The SAM Club provides independent software licensing and asset management advice. If you would like assistance with managing your software estate or would like independent support and guidance when your Microsoft licenses are due for renewal then please contact us for a discussion at [email protected]
